The present invention relates to a defect inspecting apparatus and a defect inspecting method for inspecting a semiconductor wafer and a liquid crystal substrate.
When manufacturing an LSI and a liquid crystal substrate, there are repeated patterns formed on an object to be processed (for example, a semiconductor wafer). In manufacture of such an LSI or liquid crystal substrate, if a foreign substance adheres to a surface of the object to be processed or a defect occurs, it will become a cause of a defect, such as bad insulation of wiring and a short circuit, for example. Here, as the circuit pattern becomes minute, it has become difficult to discriminate between a pattern formed on the object to be processed (a non-defect part) and a minute foreign substance and a defect. Here, the defect is a particle adhering on a sample that is the object to be processed, a crystal defect COP (Crystal Originated Particle), and scratch resulting from polishing.
There is U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,603 (patent document 1) as a background art of this technology. This patent gazette describes a method for detecting a defect (abstract) by imaging a picture at a scan position on a disk plate that has a characteristic such that a center in an arrangement direction of n amplification type light receiving elements (avalanche photodiodes) in a light receiving area formed thereby takes a peak value and an amount of received light gradually decreases to its both sides actually in contrast and by using a fact that a profile of an amount of received light varies depending on existence/absence of the defect.